Ramona man, 18, faces school vandalism, burglary charges

An 18-year-old Ramona man is in San Diego Central Jail today, charged with felony vandalism and burglary.

Timothy David Shea faces charges stemming from an estimated $60,000 damage to Ramona school district property over the July 4 weekend and a break-in at Ramona Elementary School in June, reported Sgt. Michael Strong with the sheriff’s Ramona Substation.

On July 7, the school district reported that 10 vans, 32 school buses and a classroom were vandalized at 820 Eighth St. The windows and bodies of the vehicles and one classroom were etched with graffiti, according to the sheriff’s report.

A thorough investigation by sheriff’s Cpl. Rhonda Fortson and Deputy Christopher Collier resulted in the arrest of Shea late Wednesday, said Strong. Physical evidence left at the scene and Shea’s admission of the events led to his arrest, Strong reported.

During the burglary at Ramona Elementary School at 415 Eighth St., several classrooms were entered during the evening or early morning hours and computer components were stolen. Shea directed Fortson and Collier to his residence where the stolen items were located. All of the stolen items except a television were retrieved and so was a keyboard from the school that was not on the list of items taken in the burglary, said Strong.

“This may clear up a lot of the reported cases of repeated graffiti and vandalism in the Ramona area,” Strong said after Shea’s arrest.

In an unrelated item, at the time of Shea’s arrest shortly before 8 p.m. Nov. 5, Manuel David Garcia of Ramona “came up to see what was going on,” and was arrested for felony possession of brass knuckles, said Strong, explaining that Garcia was on probation for a prior offense.

Both Ramona men were in jail today, Shea on $30,000 bond and Garcia on $10,000 bond. They are scheduled to be arraigned in East Division Court tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.